Authenticity

               How do you express to your students that you are authentic? Is it that you bring your college diploma and tell them about your education from start to finish? I don’t think so. Students can sense things about their teacher well. They can sense if they are inexperienced, uncomfortable, or insecure. I think students can also sense when a  teacher is authentic or not. Students try their teachers for various reasons. It is during these trying moments that students can tell who the teacher really is. If a teacher is a “fake,” meaning they lack all classroom management, knowledge of subject areas, and overall confidence, this will easily become apparent to the students. In order to come across as authentic, a teacher should not have to force it. I think that by the way the teacher leads and teaches a classroom will show the students how real they are. If they show the students right from the start that they have all the necessary skills as an educator by the way they lead, then the students will know that the teacher is authentic.

            If the students see their teacher as “fake,” then all respect and control of the classroom is lost. Students will lose interest in the subject and focus on finding ways to reveal the teacher’s “fakeness.” They will test the teacher’s classroom management skills and knowledge because they want everyone else to see what they see. In high school, I know when my peers came across a “fake” teacher, they would be disruptive on purpose and ask questions that were obscure, and the teacher never knew what to do with those questions. That puts a huge strain on learning. Learning is hindered because the teacher has no control and the students have no interest. It is imperative that teachers are authentic.